BC-AP Americas Digest

May 22, 2014

TOP STORIES:

NSA SURVEILLANCE

WASHINGTON — The House is poised to take the first significant step to change the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of American phone records, a compromise bill that is displeasing many civil liberties activists. By Ken Dilanian. Eds: A House vote is expected in the afternoon EDT.

UNITED NATIONS-SYRIA

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council faces a dramatic vote Thursday on referring the Syrian crisis to the International Criminal Court for investigation of possible war crimes, with dozens of countries signing on to embarrass Russia which vowed to kill the measure that demands a path to justice. By Cara Anna and Edith M. Lederer.

Eds: Security Council meets at 10 am EDT to vote.

VETERANS-HEALTH CARE

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama sought to head off a growing furor over veterans’ health care, deploring allegations of misconduct at hospitals for military veterans and warning that his administration will not tolerate it.

AP Photos.

KIDNAPPING VICTIM FOUND

SANTA ANA, California — A woman who disappeared as a teenager a decade ago was reunited with her family after she went to police and told them her mother’s ex-boyfriend drugged and kidnapped her in 2004, forced her to marry him and fathered her child. By Gillian Flaccus.

AP Photo.

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING

BOSTON — The Boston Marathon bombing suspects used “relatively sophisticated” bombs with fuses made from Christmas lights and remote-control detonators made from model car parts, federal prosecutors said in a court filing arguing that statements one of them made to FBI agents after being captured shouldn’t be thrown out. By Sylvia Lee Wingfield.

MISSOURI EXECUTION

BONNE TERRE, Missouri — The U.S. Supreme Court halts the execution of an inmate with a rare medical condition who challenged the state’s refusal to disclose the source of its lethal injection drug. By Jim Salter and Jim Suhr.

AP Photos.

CUBA-BLOGGER’S NEWSPAPER

HAVANA — Dissident Yoani Sanchez, a blogger far better known around the world than among her fellow Cubans, says she will activate the website of Cuba’s first major independent general-interest newspaper in five decades. By Michael Weissenstein.

AP Photos.

VENEZUELA-CRISIS TALKS

CARACAS, Venezuela — A South American effort to end a standoff in talks between Venezuela’s government and opposition appears to stall, while legislation in the U.S. Congress to punish Venezuelan officials for human rights abuses takes a step forward. By Fabiola Sanchez and Luis Alonso Lugo.

BERMUDA-PREMIER RESIGNS

HAMILTON, Bermuda — The premier of Bermuda has abruptly resigned and been replaced by his deputy amid a campaign finance controversy in the wealthy British island territory. By Josh Ball.

NICARAGUA-PEDOPHILE TEACHER

MANAGUA, Nicaragua — An international school that hired a teacher believed to be one of the most prolific pedophiles in memory says it accepted the resignation of its director, who has been criticized for not turning the suspect in to police immediately. By Luis Manuel Galeano and Michael Weissentein.

AP Photo.

MEXICO-SNAKE REDISCOVERED

MEXICO CITY — A species of snake that had been “lost” for almost 80 years has been re-discovered on a remote Mexican island. The Clarion nightsnake had previously been seen only once, by American naturalist William Beebe during a 1936 visit to the Revillagigedo Islands. By Mark Stevenson.

AP Photo.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-HAITI-CITIZENSHIP

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The Senate gives final legislative approval to a bill that will set up a system for granting naturalized citizenship and permanent residency to people of Haitian descent born in this Caribbean country. By Ezequiel Abiu Lopez.

BUSINESS:

GENERAL MOTORS-CONGRESS

DETROIT — General Motors CEO Mary Barra has told Washington lawmakers that GM could simultaneously release an internal investigation into a deadly ignition switch problem and its plan to compensate victims. By Tom Krisher.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PEOPLE-COLBERT-PHILIP ROTH

NEW YORK — Philip Roth, one of the world’s eminent men of letters, is apparently confused about the meaning of the word “retirement.” All it took to upend his latest farewell was an invitation from Stephen Colbert. By Hillel Italie.

SPORTS:

WCUP-BRAZIL ASSAULTS

RIO DE JANEIRO — This city has long been a notoriously dangerous place, but recent years have seen major strides in reducing crime as Rio gears up to host six World Cup matches and the 2016 Olympics. But with the showcase soccer tournament just weeks away, there are troubling rises in muggings and robberies. By Jenny Barchfield.